


New Kid

by Larry_Klaine_Stylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bullying, F/M, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-02
Updated: 2013-05-02
Packaged: 2017-12-10 04:06:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/781569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larry_Klaine_Stylinson/pseuds/Larry_Klaine_Stylinson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Louis' mum gets a job transfer, he's forced to switch schools. He's never been popular, and it's hard for him to make friends. However, a rather popular kid named Zayn decides to take him under his wing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written as a prompt fill on Tumblr.

Louis was less than thrilled to be transferring schools just in time for his final year of school. He'd be going off to Uni next year, and he really wished he would have been able to stay at his old school just a year longer. However his mum had had a job transfer, and their whole family had packed up and moved from their lovely home in Doncaster to a much smaller, but still just as lovely home in Holmes Chapel.

It wasn't that Louis hadn't liked it here in the last few weeks of Summer. It was quaint, and they had a large backyard which was perfect for playing around with his little sisters. But he wasn't exactly the most popular at his old school, and it was hard for him to make friends. He wore glasses, which for some reason automatically put people off from talking to him. He liked reading and drama and he got teased quite a bit at his old school. On top of all of that, he was gay. Though not many people had known at his old school. He made it a point to keep it under wraps. He didn't need the added torment. But at least he had friends to counteract it all there. At this new school he'd have no one. He didn't know anyone.

He had woken up early this morning, as it was the very first day of school. He'd done his hair a bit nicer than usual and tried to wear clothes that didn't scream nerd or gay or some other label he wouldn't want to be branded with on his first day. He wore a simple pair of jeans and a blue and white striped shirt, along with his favorite TOMS.

He went downstairs and simply grabbed an apple for breakfast, giving his mum and sisters all kisses on the cheek as he ran out the door. He ate the apple as he drove, and tossed the core out the window. Normally he wouldn't have done something like that, but he was distracted and it would decompose. He wasn't hurting anyone.

He pulled into the car park and found an empty spot. He got out, looking at the large building in front of him. It looked foreboding and far too big for the small town it was placed in. He walked up to the school, rucksack over his shoulder, and pushed the doors open, walking into a sea of students. In such a small town as this, Louis was sure that everyone would know everyone, and as he entered the building, his assumption seemed to be correct. Everyone was milling about, chatting by their lockers and snogging against walls, and Louis made a disgusted face.

He walked down the hall and found the main office, telling the woman at the desk that he was new here, and then giving her his name. She gave him his locker assignment and his class schedule and sent him on his way.

As he walked to his locker, he observed the teens all around him as they greeted each other after a Summer of probably seeing each other every day anyway. A few people gave him strange looks, as if they were trying to figure out who he was and where he'd come from and whether or not they were meant to already know him.

He found his locker, and next to him was a rather tall boy with curly brown hair. He seemed to be the owner of the locker next to Louis'. Louis would have given him a friendly hello, but he seemed to be a bit busy with his hands on a short, black haired girl's waist, his lips traveling down her neck. Louis scoffed at them. Was that really appropriate behavior for the hallway?

Then again, it seemed to be the norm around here. Everyone was doing it.

At his old school no one would ever think of doing something like this. The teachers would have them absolutely obliterated. It was a learning establishment, not a brothel.

Louis tossed all of the books he wouldn't need for his first class into his locker, and then headed off to find the classroom. He figured he'd give himself a head start, just in case he got lost.

He found his classroom quickly and rather easily, though, and so decided to go find a water fountain. His throat felt dry, and he supposed it was from nerves. Just walking down the halls made him nervous. And the couples snogging every which way that he turned was not helping.

He got a drink of water and then headed back to his classroom. By the time he got there, a few people were already seated. There was one boy and two girls, and they all seemed to be the goody-two-shoes' of the school. He figured maybe he could become friends with them. Still, though, he didn't want everyone in the school automatically filing him under the 'nerd' category and leaving him there to rot, so he sat a few rows away from the front, but not all the way in the back, either. He still wanted a relatively good seat.

The rest of the class filed in then, and there was the curly haired boy from the locker next to his, the girl hanging on his arm as he stood in the doorway. He heard an obnoxious conversation between the two of them and nearly threw his apple up on his desk.

"I've got to go to class, babe." The curly haired boy said. His voice was deep, and Louis tried to ignore just how nice it sounded.

"But, Harry." The short girl whined. "I'll miss you."

Alright. So his name was Harry. It wasn't like there was any reason for Louis to remember that, but he filed it away in the back of his mind just because.

"I know, love, but I'll see you at lunch."

"That's so far, though." She complained, latching onto him even tighter.

"And I'll miss you every second of it." Harry cooed, kissing her on the mouth with a sickening smack.

Louis rolled his eyes, and Harry finally made his way into the classroom, the last one in, going to the very back of the room and sitting down.

The lesson began then.

000

When lunch time rolled around, Louis sat by himself. He'd been too nervous to try and speak to the students he'd seen earlier. Luckily for him, though, they came over and sat by him. They went through short introductions, and then they were silent. He wondered if they ever talked, even to each other. They just seemed like quiet people. Louis didn't really like quiet people. They made him nervous.

000

A week and a half passed, and Louis found that every day was the same. Retching at the couples snogging in the hall, and especially at Harry and the black haired girl that he assumed was his girlfriend. One time he'd gone to his locker and they'd been leaning against it, making strange little sounds as they snogged each other, and Louis really hoped they weren't actually trying to get each other off in front of his locker. He'd spent lunch with the same quiet, school-attentive people, and that was that, really. Nothing changed. He didn't make any real friends.

Today, however, as he sat down in the cafeteria, his usual lunch mates didn't join him. He began eating his lunch alone, not really missing the silent company. They were nice enough, but their silence made him squirm.

As he was eating, he heard another lunch tray plop down on his table across from him. He looked up to see a black haired, rather dark skinned boy who looked to be about his age. His hair was up in an expertly styled quiff and he was wearing a leather jacket. Louis was pretty sure he must be lost if he'd ended up at his table.

"Zayn."

"I'm sorry?"

"Nice to meet you, Sorry."

"No, I'm Louis."

"Glad we've cleared that up then."

Louis was confused. What was happening?

"I'm Zayn." The boy across from him clarified. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh." Louis said, suddenly understanding the conversation that had transpired so far. "Nice to meet you as well."

"You probably don't want to eat lunch with the people you've been eating with. Not unless you want to be shunned by everyone here."

"I probably don't want to eat lunch with them because they never speak and it makes me uneasy." Louis said. In fact, this was the most he'd spoken during lunch period since he'd started at this school.

Zayn chuckled, "They're on the chess team. They probably spend most of their time playing imaginary games in their heads."

Louis forced a laugh. He didn't like making fun of others, seeing as he'd been on the receiving end of the taunting for most of his life. However he wanted to make friends with someone, and Zayn didn't seem to mind him, so this would have to do.

"So, what brings you to the shitty little town of Holmes Chapel?"

"My mum had a job transfer." Louis shrugged.

"You're in your last year, yeah?"

"Yep." Louis nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Shitty luck, mate. Too bad your mum's job couldn't hold out one more year."

"Yeah. Exactly."

"I've seen you floundering around a bit." Zayn said, a lighthearted smirk in place. "Must be hard starting out here. Especially with Harry and Angie snogging on top of your locker. Disgusting, they are."

"It is rather rude of them, isn't it?"

"My locker was next to Harry's last year." Zayn told him. "We're sort of mates and all but...He's a bit sickening, isn't he?"

"Most of the people in this school seem to be."

"Not me." Zayn shook his head. "I don't see the point of shoving my tongue down someone's throat in the middle of the school. If I'm going to snog someone like that I want to be somewhere where I can shag them, too." He laughed. "Plus it's just rude. Nobody wants to watch them all snogging. They aren't as hot as they think they are."

Louis was pretty sure he liked Zayn. He was funny, and even if he was a tad crude he was still better than the rest of the student body here.

"You know, Zayn." Louis said. "You're quite alright, mate."

"I should hope so. I try to be." Zayn said, giving Louis a small smile. "Stick with me and you'll probably get on fine here."

Louis nodded.

000

Over the next two months, he and Zayn ate lunch together every day. Sometimes Zayn's friends would join them. One day Harry and Angie even joined, and Louis found that when Harry's lips weren't covered by Angie's, he was really quite smart. And his voice was no less perfect than it had been on Louis' first day at school. It was deep and gravelly and Louis had to admit that he found himself quite attracted to Harry. But Harry was with Angie, and on top of that he was really out of his league. Just because he'd managed to make friends with Zayn didn't mean he'd climbed that far up the proverbial teenage food chain.

He'd hung out with Zayn a few times outside of school, but for the most part it seemed that Zayn was busy after school, having cooler friends to hang out with than Louis himself. Louis was just thankful to have Zayn's company at lunch every day. It was nice to have someone to talk to and, when Zayn's friends weren't around, complain with about the rest of the people in the school.

He and Zayn were sitting together at lunch one Friday when one of Zayn's best mates dropped by, "Zayn." He said. "Party tomorrow night at my place. My parents won't be home and they always forget to lock the liquor cabinet."

"Alright!" Zayn said.

"You're welcome to come along, too, new kid."

Louis hated that after spending nearly three months at the school, he was still referred to as 'new kid'. But it was whatever, really.

"Sure, I'll be there."

"See you later, Zayn."

"See you, mate." Zayn said, before turning back to Louis. "Your first party!" He yelled. "Excited?"

"Should I be?"

"Obviously."

"I've never been much of a partier."

"Don't worry. Everyone snogs here, yeah?"

Louis nodded.

"So it's just like school only instead of learning, everyone's drinking. Don't worry about it. You'll be fine."

"Okay." Louis nodded.

000

It was Saturday evening, and Zayn would be coming to pick him up soon. They were walking over to Zayn's friend's house together. Louis was standing in front of his mirror, holding up different clothes and trying to decide what to wear. He ended up going for a pair of extremely tight red skinny jeans, a plain black shirt, and a pair of dark blue braces. He briefly wondered if the color combination was a bit much, but decided he didn't care. He was pretty sure he looked good.

He styled his hair up into the best quiff he could manage, and then he heard a knock at the door. He ran to get it and yelled to his mum that he'd be back late and not to wait up. In all honesty, he just wanted her to be asleep before he got back because he didn't want her to know if he got drunk. He'd never had alcohol before and he didn't really know how this was going to go.

He stepped out onto the front porch and Zayn gave him a once over.

"Looking good, mate. I approve of this style."

"Yeah? I was worried about it a bit."

"Nah, you're golden." Zayn said. "You'd look better if you lost the glasses, though."

"I'm blind without them." Louis sighed.

"Which is why I haven't ripped them off of you yet." Zayn laughed.

They walked the few blocks to Zayn's mate's and Louis went to knock on the door. Zayn laughed, simply pushing it open and heading inside, music blaring loudly and various teens dancing and grinding and snogging every direction he turned in.

"You don't knock at a party like this." Zayn laughed at him. "We're gonna get you drunk and see if we can get you to lighten up."

Zayn grabbed Louis by the shoulders and shoved him off to the kitchen area where all of the alcohol had been set out. He grabbed a plastic cup and filled it up with some unknown alcohol, thrusting it into Louis' hand.

"Drink up."

Louis sniffed the drink, and it tickled his nose a bit. He brought the cup to his lips and tipped it back, taking a large gulp of it, and in hindsight, he really should have known better. It tasted rather foul and it burned the back of his throat and his tongue on its way down. He swallowed harshly and then coughed a bit, and Zayn smirked at him.

"First time drinker?"

Louis nodded, eyes watering.

"This should be fun."

Louis took smaller sips after that, but was soon done with his first cup.

"How do you feel?"

"No different." Louis shrugged.

"That was a full fucking cup." Zayn said. "Don't tell me you're one of those who can drink a whole bottle and just get tipsy."

Louis simply shrugged again.

Zayn filled another cup with the liquid and handed it to Louis, who took it and drank it back rather quickly, his mouth having become accustomed to the vile taste. The burn was somewhat pleasant now, and as he gulped back the drink, he began to feel a little dizzy.

"Zayn. I think s'working." He slurred.

Zayn laughed, sipping at his own alcohol, "There you go. That's a good boy."

Louis stuck his tongue out at Zayn's condescending tone and drank a bit more.

"Go mingle, drunky." Zayn said.

Louis nodded and wandered off into the room. He began dancing with a few girls, and they seemed to find him interesting. A few of them started trying to grind up on him, and he quickly moved away, saying he wasn't in the mood. Though really, if it had been a guy, specifically Harry, he probably would have been fine with it.

He wandered around and talked to some people, though he couldn't really remember what he'd said just seconds after speaking the words. Something about puppies, he thought.

Zayn found him again and thrust another cup of alcohol into his hand before giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek and walking off. His lips were kind of soft and Louis wouldn't have minded kissing Zayn for real right now, even though he didn't think of him as anything more than a friend, because his lips were soft, and Louis just really wanted a good snog. He'd never really snogged anyone before, and the alcohol in his system was giving him a craving for it.

He sat down on the ground in the middle of the room and swayed to the thumping music that was playing throughout the house. Half an hour later and a good quarter of the party had gathered around him. Harry wasn't in the crowd, though, which made him sad. He was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, Angie standing between his legs, his hands buried in her hair as they snogged with intense fervor. Louis couldn't help but be envious.

He was babbling to the people around him, though. Talking about his sisters and his real thoughts about people at school, and even as he bad mouthed some of the people who were sitting in front of him, they all still laughed. Alcohol was funny that way. It made you care less about everything.

"Hey. Hey, guys." He said, and everyone leaned in a little closer. "I've got a secret for you." He hiccuped.

"What is it?" Zayn asked from next to him. "Come on then."

"Ya know wha'?" He slurred. "I trus' you guys. I really really trus' you guys an' I'm gonna tell you," a hiccup, "somethin'."

"Yeah, yeah. Tell us." A tall blonde said, slapping Louis on the knee.

"Okayokay. Ready?" He asked, taking a deep breath. "I'm gay, you know? I'm jus' so gay and I'm sick of hiding it from everyone because it's just who I am, y'get it? So I wanted you all to know, because you're my best friends, you know that?"

Everyone was staring at him now. Harry and Angie had stopped snogging because Harry had quickly turned his head to face Louis. Everyone had stunned looks on their faces, and most of them had a look of disgust as well. Louis felt tears brimming in his eyes as he realized what he'd done. He suddenly felt himself sobering up quite a bit, and he immediately regretting the words that had fallen from his lips. Zayn was his only friend here. He didn't trust any of these people with his secret. And now here they were, giving him looks of pure disgust and hatred, and Louis could swear he was going to cry.

"Well, time for us to get going." Zayn said, standing up and pulling Louis with him. "See you all at school on Monday."

Zayn walked Louis home, but didn't say a word. He dropped him off at his front door, and Louis made his way inside, stumbling up to his bedroom and crying himself to sleep.

000

When Harry heard Louis' slurred admission, he had immediately ripped his lips away from Angie's, wanting to see how everyone would react. Harry wasn't gay himself, but recently he'd been a little bit confused. When Louis had first transferred, Harry hadn't given him the time of day. He had Angie, and more often than not, their lips were connected and his eyes were closed, so even if he'd wanted to spend his time paying attention to someone else, he wouldn't have been able to. He and Angie were in love, and that should have been all he needed.

But then he started letting his eyes wander to Louis when they were at their lockers between classes, and he noticed the lovely contours of his face and his chiseled cheek bones, and he'd found himself becoming increasingly attracted to the new kid in school. He'd ignored it, though. He loved Angie, and he was too good for Louis anyhow. He could have any girl in the whole school. If he got bored with Angie, he could just move on to one of them.

But that was the thing. He wasn't bored with Angie. Angie was still great, and he still told her he loved her every five minutes even if he wasn't quite sure he was feeling it anymore, because he didn't want to lose her. She was gorgeous and she was good enough for him, and she was...A she.

But Louis had started creeping into his thoughts. Ever since the time he and Angie had joined Zayn at Louis' table at lunch and he'd heard his angelic voice as he spoke to Zayn he hadn't been able to get Louis out of his head. And at Louis' admission, his heart had stopped. Because maybe he would go ahead and act on his feelings if Louis was gay. There was no way he'd turn Harry down.

But as he turned to face the room, he saw the looks of disgust on everyone's faces, and he knew he never could. He was popular. He was the top of the food chain. He had girls chasing after him, and a lovely girlfriend who spent all her time snogging him, and he couldn't really ask for a better life. He wasn't going to throw it all away just to see what it would be like to date the new, gay kid in school who wore glasses and had hardly any friends. It wasn't worth it.

As Zayn dragged Louis out of the party, Harry turned his attention back to Angie, attaching his lips to hers with a new found persistence, wanting to wipe any thoughts of Louis from his mind.

000

Louis had spent all day on Sunday with a pounding headache, thanks to the giant hangover he'd managed to give himself. He'd told his mum he had a cold, but he had a feeling that she knew better than to believe him.

It was Monday now, and school was going to be absolute hell. Everyone knew his biggest secret, and he was sure they were going to waste no time in humiliating him for it.

As he stepped into the school, he took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst. Although, in his mind, the worst was simply verbal abuse coming at him from thirty different directions all at once. It was mild compared to what he actually received.

He made it through his first class with just a few dirty glares and mutters of homophobic slurs. But as he made his way to his second class, he was tripped, his books spilling from his hands as he fell to the ground, hitting his knee hard on the floor.

"Shit." He muttered, scrambling to pick up his books.

The rest of the day went by in a similar fashion. He was tripped and bumped into and he was nearly certain he wouldn't be able to take much more of this.

000

Over the course of the next few weeks, it got worse. There wasn't just tripping and shoving anymore. There were tall boys with large muscles stealing his glasses, there were people punching him as they passed, never stopping to give him a proper beating, but hurting him nonetheless. There were a few times when he was dragged by a few girls into their loo, and then his head was shoved into the toilet. Those were the worst, because they were the most humiliating.

Zayn still ate lunch with him. He was still his friend. But he didn't stop the others from hurting him, and Louis didn't really expect him to. He didn't want Zayn to become as unpopular as he was. It wasn't fun, and he wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.

000

Harry watched on as the bullying got worse, most of it happening right before his eyes, as they'd get him when he was grabbing his books between classes. Sometimes Angie would be with him as he watched, and she'd huff and put her hands on her hips and ask him why he was paying so much attention to all of that rather than snogging her, and he'd just wave her away and wince as Louis got a punch to the gut or a shove into a locker.

It went on for over a month this way, until one day, Harry was walking down the hall. He saw a few guys standing in a circle, and at first he thought they must have found a little turtle or something that had made its way into the school and had decided to terrorize it. Which he really wasn't okay with, but it's not like there was much he could do about it.

However, as he got closer, he saw that they weren't surrounding a turtle at all. They were surrounding Louis. He stopped dead in his tracks, watching in horror as they started to beat him up, throwing kicks and punches from every direction. He was frozen in horror for a few moments, but when he heard Louis yelp in pain he knew he couldn't just sit by and watch any longer.

000

Louis tried not to let it show when they were hurting him. Hoped if he never reacted that eventually they'd let it go and leave him alone. But when one of them punched him hard in his already bruised stomach, he let out a loud yelp of pain and crumpled a bit.

That's when he saw Harry approaching. Up until this point, although Harry stood right next to him at their lockers every day, he hadn't joined in. Louis had found himself growing quite fond of Harry simply for that fact, and on occasion he'd wanted to kiss him and just say thank you, because even if he wasn't doing anything to stop anyone, at least he wasn't joining. He was like Zayn. But as Harry began striding towards the group of people surrounding him, he knew that the kind Harry in his mind was just a fantasy, and that the real Harry had just been waiting for the right time to pop in and finish him off.

That's when he heard it, though. Harry's voice, booming and commanding, letting out a loud, "Get off of him!"

He made his way closer and shoved everyone away from Louis, and Louis could feel his heart beating quickly in his chest. In all the time since the bullying had started, not one person, not even a teacher, had tried to stop them. And here was Harry, one of the most popular boys in school, who spent ninety nine percent of his time snogging his girlfriend on Louis' own locker, saving him. He was pushing everyone away and yelling at them to leave him alone, and he was saving him.

Harry held Louis gently, keeping him from collapsing to the ground, "Are you alright?"

Louis was in a bit of a daze, but managed to nod.

And that was when, in the midst of the large crowd that had gathered to watch the beating he had just been taking, Harry kissed him. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Louis' hard and just kissed him. It took a moment for Louis to register what was happening, but once he did, he brought his hands up, tangling them in Harry's curls, which were even softer than they looked. Harry ran his tongue along Louis' bottom lip, and Louis opened his mouth. He vaguely registered the sounds of people gasping in horror, or running off, presumably to toss the contents of their stomach into a bin, but he didn't care. Because Harry's lips were soft and just wet enough, and his tongue felt like silk as it glided around in Louis' mouth.

"Hey!" Louis heard Angie's annoying voice cut through his joy. "What the hell is going on here?! Harry?!"

"Angie." Harry said, quickly pulling away from Louis.

"What are you doing kissing this homo? Did he brain wash you?"

"He didn't brain wash me, Ang." Harry said, taking Louis' hand, causing Louis to gasp in surprise. "He doesn't deserve to be treated the way he has been, and I find him to be quite nice. I don't...I don't love you anymore, Angie. And I'm sorry I didn't break up with you properly, but Louis needs me, I think. If he'll have me, of course." Harry said, turning to face Louis.

Louis nodded, eyes wide with shock.

"You have got to be kidding me." Angie said, hands on her hips, an icy glare being shot from Harry to Louis and then back.

"I'm not kidding." Harry told her. "But I am sorry."

"Save your sorries." Angie scoffed. "I can't believe you're a fucking homo."

"I'm not-" Harry stopped himself, and Louis gave him a funny look. "Whatever. Think what you want."

Angie stormed away then, and Louis turned to face Harry.

"I'm not gay." Harry told him. "I'm not straight either, but I'm definitely not gay."

"You don't need a label, you know." Louis said with a smile.

"Hey, Louis, listen." Harry said. "I'm sorry I just kissed you like that. I know we haven't even really had a proper conversation."

"It's alright." Louis said. It was more than alright, really. "Listen...Thank you. For stopping them. For saving me."

"No one should be treated like that." Harry shook his head. "I know as one of the popular guys I should be all for bullying or whatever, but I never have been. It makes me sick. I couldn't just stand around and do nothing anymore."

Louis wrapped Harry in a tight hug then, and Harry hugged him back.

They walked to their next class together, and parted ways to go to their usual seats. When class was over, Harry met Louis outside of the room and grabbed his hand.

"Can I join you and Zayn for lunch?"

"I'd love that."

They walked to the cafeteria, hand in hand, and sat down across from Zayn.

"Hey, Harry." Zayn said. "Heard about what happened in the hall earlier. Thanks for helping Lou. Makes me feel like a bit of a prick for letting it go on for this long, though."

"I couldn't have asked you to sacrifice your popularity for me, Zayn." Louis told him. "Being popular in this school seems to be more than just having friends. Being popular is a sort of safety, you know? I just hope people don't start bullying Harry now."

"People seem to be mighty confused." Zayn said. "I've seen a lot more people wandering around aimlessly today than there were on the first day of kindergarten. I think they don't know what to do now that one of the popular guys has gone and kissed a dude. I think it's shitty that this had to happen for people to start thinking it's okay, but I think things might be changing around here."

"I sure hope so." Harry piped up, crossing ankles with Louis under the table. "I sure hope so."


End file.
